Music: Schubert Prizes

A busy public, that insists upon
labeling every genius with a single superlative, likes to peg Beethoven
as the "greatest orchestral composer," Schubert "the greatest song
writer." Both were German contemporaries, both suffered cruel
affliction, neither married. With that the similarity ends. Where
Beethoven, the austere, cried out in the music of every man's sorrow,
Schubert, the gentle, preferred a lyrical opiate. Where Beethoven, the
Master, died amidst reverence in a thunderstorm, Schubert, the unknown,
passed away in ignominy. It is said that they met on one occasion when
Schubert, struggling...